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A global success

A revolution in skincare

Q10 is a natural, vitamin-like substance that can be found in every cell of the human body. It plays a key role in cell metabolism, or the way in which our bodies convert food into energy.
When we began searching for active skincare ingredients – that is, substances that produce lasting changes to the skin – it made sense to start by looking at substances that occur naturally in the body. Dr Franz Stäb, one of NIVEA’s leading biologists, was part of the team that started this research 20 years ago.
“First, we tested the most important active substances of the metabolism, one of which was Q10,” he explained. “We asked ourselves whether older skin was deficient in these substances, and what would happen if it was given more of them. That was how we discovered the effects of Q10.”
When Dr Stäb and his team realised that older skin had lower levels of Q10 than younger skin, their next challenge was to find out how this might be related to skin ageing. What they discovered was groundbreaking: Q10 stops free radicals, or molecules that are known to cause skin ageing, from damaging cells.
The next step was to create a skin cream with Q10. But the team found that this wasn’t easy.
“We had to play around quite a bit before we managed to develop a formula that prevented Q10 from being destroyed, which can happen very quickly if it is exposed to sunlight,” Dr Stäb said. “We had to find the right mix between the base of the cream and the active ingredient, Q10. That is what makes our Q10 products so special.”
In 1998, the first NIVEA cream with Q10 hit the market, and its effectiveness made it a huge success. As Dr Stäb said, “Scientific tests with our Q10 creams clearly prove that they noticeably smooth wrinkles.”
Today, a NIVEA Q10 product is bought every few seconds, and our NIVEA Visage Anti-Wrinkle Q10 Day Cream has become one of our bestselling anti-wrinkle creams. Now, products with enriched with Q10 can be found across all our relevant categories, from NIVEA For Men to NIVEA Sun.